Crescenta Valley boys’ basketball stopped by No. 1 seed in semifinals
It’s been quite an impressive postseason run for the Crescenta Valley High boys’ basketball team.
The Falcons put together a collection of heart-pounding victories to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2013.
Fourth-seeded Crescenta Valley had a huge task Saturday, when it met No. 1 Colony in a CIF Southern Section Division II-A semifinal road game.
Crescenta Valley held its own in the first quarter before struggling in the second quarter en route to a 74-54 defeat.
Crescenta Valley (26-5) looked to reach the championship game for the first time since 1994 before coming up short against Colony (26-5).
Colony will take on third-seeded La Cañada (27-5) in the championship game at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Azusa Pacific University.
“It’s really been a great run,” said Crescennta Valley coach Shawn Zargarian, who has led the Falcons to three semifinal appearance since the 2011-12 campaign. “It’s been an amazing experience, not just for our team, but for the school and the community.
“We definitely have a lot to be proud of and we’ll be in the state tournament, too. Colony has a great team and they did a real good job, especially in the second quarter.”
Colony, which won the Palomares League championship, held an 18-16 lead after the first quarter. Crescenta Valley, which took second in the Pacific League, was outscored, 22-8, in the second quarter and couldn’t recover.
“We just couldn’t make many shots in the second quarter and Colony went on that run,” said Zargarian, whose team posted playoff wins versus Diamond Ranch and Culver City before turning back Compton in overtime in a quarterfinal contest. “It was just very tough in the second quarter.”
Colony led, 40-24, at halftime.
The Falcons received a team-high 19 points from Tyler Carlson, who had 35 against Compton. Crescenta Valley received 16 points and five assists from Andreyas Boghossian and six points and 11 rebounds from Chucky Meyer.
“We were able to cut the deficit to 10 points a couple of times in the third quarter,” said Zargarian, a former All-Area Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year. “Colony came back and would score.”
Crescenta Valley came into the game having won 12 consecutive contests.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
